Reckoning and computing apparatus.



J. ROBERTSON.

REGKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2. 1910.

1,052,276. Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

F/GJ.

INVENTOR J. ROBERTSON.

REOKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APILZ, 1910.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913 8 SHBBTSSHEET 2.

FIG. 2

I g Y B i 3 14 v 4 ii .3/ H211 {:riZ/ i r A O O J! n I l l WITNESSESINVEHTOR 00 %f% 7g H I 12 moxrvsvs J. ROBERTSON.

REOKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2, 1910.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

8 S HEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG. 7.

mm ass E5 mve NTQR J. ROBERTSON. RECKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 11.2, 1910.

1,052,276, Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSE$ INVENTOR M ATTORNEYS J. ROBERTSON.

RBGKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATU&

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1910.

1,052,276. Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

8 BHEETS-8HEET 5.

FIG. 5..

MINVENTWR JWM ATTORNEYS YYITHEESES Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

IIIIIIII INVENTOR Wm EM 434 ATTORNE vs;

J. ROBERTSON.

RECKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATU&

APPLICATION FILED APB.2, 1910.

1,052,276 Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

FIG. 9

Jfa

mmes es INVENTOR VATTORNEYS J.ROBERTSON.

nncxoume AND COMPUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APB..2,1910.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

INVEN OR ATT RNEYs AMES ROBERTSON, or GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.

RECKONING AND COMPUTING APPARATUS.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

' Patented Feb. 4,1913.

Application filed April 2, 1910. Serial No. 553,131;

To all who-m it mag concern Be it known that I, JAMES ROBERTSON, asubject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident .ofGlasgow, $cotland, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements inReckoning and Computing Apparatus, and of which the following is thespecification.

This invention relates to that type of reckoning and computing apparatusin which bands inscribed with factors or the like are mounted uponrotatable rollers and are brought beneath a pointer or equivalent byrotation of the. rollers, while another factoring device maysimultaneously give an indication. .In such machines hitherto thecapacity has been limited both by the limitation of length of the bandand of smallness of size. of'the matter printed upon it.-

The present invention has for its ob ect.

to overcome these disabilities and to provide in one apparatus andreadable against one pointer or equivalent a series of bands of such atotal length will permit of the most extended computations being made.

An apparatus.made according to the invention, comprises essentially anouter casing provided with the usual pointer and scale and otherdevices,'and having mounted within it a cage in which are a series ofrollers carrying a series of bands any one of which by rotation of thecage may be brought opposite the pointer or like device,

and which upon rotation of its roller or' rollers may befrnade to theredisplay its particular columns" of factors. bands ma'y be mounteddirectly about'the peripheries of the rollers+there being then but oneroller-for -each b'and,'or opposite ends of the bandsmay be attached totwo rollers from one to the other of which they are wound to exposetheir columns. In this case means are provided'for tensioning the bands,while the invention-includes various minor devices appendant to thecarrying outof its broad features. "In order that the invention and themanner of performing the sa-memay be propflly understood, there arehereunto appended eight sheets of explanatory drawings showing moreor'less tliagrammatically a series of examples of the carrying out" ofthe in \cntion.'

Figure 1 is a sectional and diagrammatic endelevation of an exam 1c inwhich the factorial bands are irectly t raversable The factorialmountedupon the peripheries of rollers. Fig. 2 is a sectional sideelevation ofdetail means for manipulation of the band rollers in such and in someother examples, Fig. 3 is a diagram of a form of gearing. Fig. 4; is adiagrammatic view of an example in which the bands pass'between pairs ofrollers. Figs. 5 and 6 are, respectively, a' Vertical section and a sideelevation of an exemplary form of indicatin gear. Fig. is a plan of anexemplary $0 and scaling device. Figs.'8 and 9 are sec tional anddiagrammatic elevations of two further examples of apparatus in whichthe bands pass from roller to roller. Figs. 10, 11 and 12, are diagramsof gearing, bands, and rollers, and Figs. 13 and 14' are, re-

spectively, a sectional side and an end ele' vation of a band tensioningdevice.

In the example shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, there are a series ofrollers A, A

A A A, A bearing bands around their rm of pointer peripheries mountedupon spindles carried in end plates B forming the cage referred tomounted in turn on a spindle B,the whole being mounted within a casingC.having a. single sighting slot D along which is a pointer or otherdevice (not shown).

In the example shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4 there are a series ofpairsof rollers A, A, A A". Passingfrom one roller to, another of eachof the pairs is a factor bearing band E, which bands pass mid-Waybetween the rollers over guide bars E, F, (or it might be guide rollers)by which they (the bands) are brought sufficiently near the periphery tobe read through the sighting slot." The rollers A, A", are mounted inend plates Bforming a cage which in turn is carried in a casing as inthe foregoingv example.

It is often expedient that there be two factorial bands separatelyadjustable but readable jointly through practically one sighting slot atone time. An example carrying out this requirement is shown iiisectional end elevation in Fig. 8. In this example there are two lengthybands E and two shorter bands E, the lengthy bands are mounted uponpairs of r'oller's A, A, respectively, the shorter upon p'airs A, A,while intermediate guide rollers F F F F to bring the bands u to theperiphery for reading are provided. As before, the rollers are allmounted on end plates forming a cage whiclris rotatable on trunnions Bwithin an outer casing C having a single sighting position I), while twosighting slots D with their scales D are'carried on the cage oppositeeach pair of bands. In this last example there are two sets of bands,each consisting of two, readable together, and either pair .of bands maybe turned to he sighting position D for use. It may be that more pairsof bands be required-a larger number of pairs is provided in the example(otherwise similar to that just described) shown in F ig. 9. In thiscase there are four pairs A, A, A A" of greater and four pairs A, A A 9,A of lesser bands, while sighting slots D co-acting with the singlesighting position D in the outer case (not shown here are carried by thecage opposite each pair of bands.

These are exemplary of the manners of arranged bands and rollers in therotatable cageobviously the arrangement may be varied to suit particularcircumstances, forms, or conditions.

The means for operating the cage, the

acting with a pointer (notsho vn) on the' casing. The scale bearsdescriptions or the like of the functions of the-bands upon the variousrollers. 'Oneend plate B has formed upon ita cylindrical bush H engagingtrunnion-wise a bushed aperture in that end of the casing C and thespindles H of the rollers, A, A A A, bear upon their outer endshandwhecls ll by which they may he turned. 'ere this arrangement appliedto an apparatus having bands arranged to wind from one to other of pairsof cylinders, of course, only the spindle of one-roller in each pairwould be provided with a hand wheel such as IF. Again, instead of ahandwhecl being-provided for each roller to be operated, the rollers tobe operated may (as shown diagranunatirally in Fig. 3) each have uponits spindle a pinion H all of.

which pinions gear with a central pinion II. Any convenient pointingdevice and scale. may be applied to such an arrangcnu-nt to indicate theposition of the various geared rollers and the bands, but a simple andeffective form is shown in Figs. 5 and t. In this form the pinion II iscarried upon a spindle J passing out through the trunnion-like part ofthe cage plate B. External to the plate B the spindle is screwedandengages a nut J formed in a drum J in Fig.

moves endwise over or fron ott the drum J as the case may be,unco\-ering or covering more or less of the scale upon that drum uponwhich the pointer J indicates also. Thus an exactindication of thepositions of the various rollers and their bands is given,

Fixed upon while further, the drum J encountering at its extremes ofmovements either the plate B or the interior of the drum J. as the casemay be, prevents over wlnding of the rollers in either direction-a verynecessary Incas ure in the'case of pairs of rollers with a. hand betweenthem.

Means must be provided to arrest and retain the cage in all examples inthe various positions with the various bands opposite the singlesighting aperture in the outer casing C. Any convenient form of deviceto this end may he ap 'ilied. A'simple form is shown in Fig. 8. To theouter casing G there is pivoted a pawl-lever Kprovided at its outer endwith a handle (notfshown) and having a tooth 1C adapted to engage aseries of notches Kon'e for each position of the cage. The pawl leveriscontrolled by-a spring K. In Fig. 8 also and device. This" consists of aslotted pointer L through the slot in which the bands are read at thesingle sighting aperture D. This pointer is pivoted'ii on a rail L fixcdacross the front of the n'ntchiue. The pointer is lifted hya feather Ifengaging it. This feather is on a tubeL on the rail L and is turnablethrough a small angle thereon to tilt the pointer out of the way whenthe cage is to be rotated within the casing, which in this instanceconsists bf end plates G \vith-hrwhich the cage rotates, and whichplates are held together by longitudii.al' rods To automatically ettectthis, the tube- L bears a crank L connected by a link L with the leverK, and as the cage cannotv be turned until the lever K is depressed. itfollows that the pointer L mustbe raised before the cage moves.

It is expedient where tl'io band passes from roller to roller that theoperating means for the sake of speed be geared to the rollers. Thus inFigs. 8 and 9 are pinions M gearing with pinions M on the rollers withbands of greater length, and like pmions M M for the hands of lcsscrlcrgth. The pinions M, M may he operated by the shown a form ofband-reading means shown in Fig. 2, or their positions may be somodified that they may be operated by 'themeans shown in Figs. 3, 5, and6.

IVhen bands passing from roller to roller pare einployed, it is, ofcourse, essential that some means be provided for maintaining the bandin tension as the winding circumference decreases on one roller andincreases on the other. The simplest means is to apply a light brake toeach roller, provide each roller with a handle and operate always towind up the band onto one roller, but such an arrangement is liable toconfuse the operator, who, winding by the wrong handle, loosens the bandand disorganizes the whole arrangement. A simple tensioning device bywhich sufficient tension is maintained at all times in the band and bwhich the band is operated for winding in either direction by onehandwheel or equivalent is shown in Figs. 13 and 14. In this example,the roller A is loose upon its spindle P, and there is loose upon asleeve P on that spindle a disk P carrying a transmission means such asa sprocket wheel P There is rovided upon the outer end of the spindle Fa handwheel P for turning it, or it might be, of course, a pinion to beturned through caring. Between the end flange of the rol er A and thedisk P the spindle P is screwed, and there engages with the screwed parta nut R. The

. nut R has a groove about its periphery engaged by a loose heavy dragring R Upon the spindle P being turned in one direction or the other,the drag of the ring R causes the nut R to lag behind on the screw andbe moved either into contact with the end of the roller A or with thedisk P Thus upon rotating the spindle P in one direction, the roller Ais locked to it by the clutch action of the'nut R, and upon rotating thespindle in the other direction the disk P and its transmission means arelocked to it. Instead of the drag ring a brake may be applied to thenut. The other roller of the pair fom one to other of which the band iswound is, of course, driven from the transmission means on the disk PThus, when the spindle is turned in one direction the band is wound upon the one roller and runs freely off the other and vice versa. Lightsprings such as S are applied to the rollers to give sufiicient drag toadequately tension the band.

Various manners of arranging the band and gearing are shown in Figs. 10,11 and 12. In Fig. 1Q, the band E is wound in the same direction on thetwo rollers A, A while a sprecli'ct' chain T drives the roller A the nut11 and allied parts being upon the spindle of the roller A. In Fig. 11,pinions T T on the two rollers A, A directly intermesh,-and the band Eis wound oppositely on the two rollers. In Fig.' 12, an intermediatepinion T is placed between the pin- 'journaled in one of said end framesand forming an end closure for the frame, a spindle fast with said endplate and journaled in the other of said end frames, at hand wheel onthe end of said spindle for rotating the cage, factorial devicesrotatably supported in said cage and means passing through the end plateof the cage for rotating independently the several factorial devices,substantially as described.

2. In reckoning and computing apparatus, a supporting casing having endframes, a cage having an end plate peripherally journaled in one of saidend frames and forming an end closure for the frame, a spindle fast withsaid end plate and journaled in the other of said end frames, a handwheel on the end of said spindle for rotating the cage, a band scale onthe periphery of said hand Wheel for indicating the position of thecage, factorial devices rotatably supported in said cage and meansassing through the end plate of the cage or rotating independentl theseveral factorial devices, substantial y as described.

3. In reckoning and computing apparatus, a supporting casing, a cagerotatable therein, a series of factorial devices mounted in said cage,in combination with a stop device for holding said cage in observationposition, a pointer adjustable longitudinally of the cage and anoperative connection between said pointer and stop device for liftingthe pointer on the disengagement of the stop device, substantially asdescribed.

4. In reckoning and computing apparatus, a supporting casing, a cagerotating within said casing, and factorial devices carried by said cage,in combination with a rail carried horizontally in front of said cage, acammed sleeve on said rail, a pointer longitudinally slidable on saidsleeve across the face of said cage, a pivoted stop device for haltingthe cage in observation position and a connection between said stopdevice and sleeve for lifting the pointer when the cage is freed,substantially as described.

5. In reckoning and computing apparatus, factorial band carrying rollersand winding device therefor, said device comprising a spindle withthreaded portion, a

4 on said threaded portion, a V i mounted on one side of said nut'rtranrmission device on the opposite sai-tl nut, and a drag deviceoperating nut whereby the latter is moved into 'i tal, engagement Withthe cylinder il lhr-ii 'i device when the spindle i'; ro he oppositedirection, substantially 'i nilt reckoning and computing :ippara Mingdevice, a Page rotatable Within a series of rollers supported in n,between each pair of rollers 51 band windalile from one to the "tiltstor bruising; the band alterna-- A mile the indicating device, means uw'hhiillttl them there, and means fior op-- m in: tin IUllHS andtensioning means for 'iindie is rotated in one direction 1 na ionalengagement with the \x-ting an outer casing: with a suitable each pairof rollers comprising a spindle upon which one of the rollers is free, ascrewed part on the spindle, a nut engaging the screwed part, a dragdevice on the nut, a transmission means loose on the spindle andconnecting the second roller of the pair, said nut being interposedbetween the roller and the transmission means so that upon the rotationof the spindle in one direction ,or the other said nut is brou 'ht intofrictional driving engagement with said roller or said transmissionmeans depending upon the direction of rotation, for the purposedescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, inthepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES ROBERTSON. \Vitnesses:

DAVID FERGUSON, \Vlnrnnn HUNT.

:. of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theComrnissipner of Patents,

Washington, D. O.

